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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the nickname Vittoria uses for Corrado?

2. What is one thing that strikes Giovanna as odd about the fight she hears about that her father and Mariano have in Part II?

3. What affectionate nickname does Vittoria have for Giovanna?

4. What does Vittoria compliment Costanza on?

5. What is significant about May 23 for Vittoria?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Giovanna feel about Vittoria after their first meeting?

2. What does Giovanna realize her father Andrea is very attached to for the first time in Part II?

3. What does Giovanna overhear her father telling her mother about her two years before he leaves the family?

4. Why does Giovanna begin pestering her friends Angela and Ida about their opinions of her appearance?

5. Where does Giovanna go with Vittoria when Vittoria comes to her door in Part II?

6. Why does Vittoria tell Giovanna that Giovanna's father avoids cemeteries?

7. Why is Giovanna so interested in her Aunt Vittoria in Part I?

8. What does Vittoria tell Giovanna is the main reason for the rift between her and Giovanna's father?

9. What does Giovanna witness between her mother, Nella, and Mariano one night that shocks her in Part II?

10. What is the first lie Giovanna tells Angela and Ida?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the dynamics Giovanna observes that are at play between Vittoria's relationship with Margherita, Guiliana, Corrado, and Tonini, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining what you think Giovanna means at the very end of the novel when she says of her impending trip to Venice with Ida,"On the train, we promised each other to become adults as no one ever had before" (322).

Essay Topic 3

How would you describe Giovanna's relationship with her friend Angela early in the novel? How and why does the girls' relationship change as the novel progresses? Write an essay explaining your answers.

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